Swimming pools and method of installing liners therefor



April 13, 1965 J. P. KWAKE SWIMMING POOLS AND METHOD OF INSTALLINGLINERS THEREFOR Filed Feb. 12, 1962 V In." I;

J06 P (wake,

INVEN TOR.

WHANN 8 McMAN/G'Al. Affornfys for A I/anf mam).

United States Patent Ofiice 3,177,561 Patented Apr. 13, 1965 3,177,501SWIMMING POOLS AND METHOD OF INSTALLING LINERS THEREFOR John P. Kwake,2507 Carob Drive, Los Angeles, Calif.

' Filed Feb. 12, 1962, Ser. No. 172,520

8 Claims. (Cl. 4-172) This invention relates generally to swimming poolsand relates more particularly to swimming pools having liners, andmethod of installing said liners.

While the invention has particular utility in connection with swimmingpools, and is shown and described in such connection, it is to beunderstood that its utility is not confined thereto.

, Many swimming pools are provided with a waterproof liner of flexibleplastic or the like, and certain problems are involved in theinstallation of such plastic liners. For example, one difliculty orproblem has been encountered in securely anchoring the liner to theswimming pool wall, and it is an object of the present invention toprovide anchoring means for such liners and method of installing saidliners that will overcome such difliculties and solve said problems.

, It has been found that securing or anchoring the free edge portion orperipheral portion of the liner at the top of the swimming pool walldoes not provide fully satisfactory anchoring means therefor and it isanother object of the present invention to provide means for solvingthis problem. 1

It is still another object of the invention to provide anchoring meansfor the liner which will securely anchor the peripheral portion of theliner to the upper portion of the swimming pool wall and also anchor theliner to the swimming pool wall adjacent the bottom thereof.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a swimming pool linerwhich may be readily and easily anchored along the periphery thereof andalong the portion at' the bottom of the swimming pool wall.

It is a still further object of the invention to provide a liner of thischaracter that may be easily and quickly installed.

It is another object of the invention to provide a liner of thischaracter that does not require the services of highly skilled workmento install.

Still another difliculty or problem involved in the installing of linersfor swimming pools is the difliculty of preventing the liners fromwrinkling when installed and it is a still further object of theinvention to provide a liner of this character which will solve thisproblem and overcome the said difficulty. V

A further object of the invention is to provide a liner and method ofinstalling said liner wherein the liner will smoothly and evenly bepositioned against the swimming poolwall and bottom without wrinkling.

It is a still further object of the invention to provide apparatus 'ofthis character that is inexpensive to manufacture.

It is another object of the invention to provide a liner of thischaracter that is relatively inexpensive to install.

It is still another object of the invention to provide a liner of thischaracter requiring but a relatively short time to install.

It is a further object of the invention to' provide a liner of thischaracter that may be easily released from the pool wall and removedfrom the pool.

It isstill another object of the invention to provide a liner of thischaracter that may be of various desired shapes.

The characteristics and advantages of the invention are furthersufiiciently referred to in connection with the following detaileddescription of the accompanying drawings, which represent oneembodiment. After considering this example skilled persons willunderstand that many variations may be made without departing from theprinciples disclosed and I contemplate the employment of any structures,elements, modes of operation, or steps of the method of installing aliner that are properly Within the scope of the appended claims.

Referring to the drawings, which are for illustrative purposes only:

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a swimming pool Wall and portion of thebottom thereof with a liner embodying the present invention installed insaid pool;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary enlarged sectional view of the upper portion ofthe pool wall with the free edge portion of the liner secured thereto;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken on line 3-3 of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view of a lower anchoringmeans and a portion of the liner to which it is attached.

Referring more particularly to FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, there is shown aswimming pool embodying the present invention, said pool including avertical wall indicated generally at 10. The wall is of concrete orother suitable material and may be continuous or it may be formed ofprecast section which are subsequently installed and secured together.

Wall rests on and is cemented to a concrete footing 12 set in sand orthe like indicated at 15 which is disposed on the ground formation 16.It is to be understood, of course, that the footing and the wall may beotherwise supported and installed.

At the top the wall 10 has a coping 17 with an inwardly projectingflange or bead 18. Extending lengthwise of the wall, beneath the flange18 and adjacent thereto is a recess or groove 20 of somewhat rectangularcross sectional shape and having top and bottom walls or surfaces 21 and22 respectively, which are substantially parallel to each other, and aninterior or back wall 24. The side of the groove or recess 20 oppositethe back wall 24 faces the interior of the pool and is open at 25, andhence will be termed herein the inner or open side of said groove. Alongthe lower edge at the open side of the groove is a tongue or flange 26projecting into the open side of the groove and partially closing saidopen side. The inner side 27 of the flange 26 is curved upwardly andoutwardly of said groove so that the width or height of open part of thegroove is less than the spacing of the upper and lower walls 21 and 22of said groove.

Adjacent the bottom of the wall 10 and at its inner side is a groove 30similar to the groove 20, said grooves 20 and 36 being spaced apartvertically in wall 10. Groove 30 includes top and bottom walls 31 and 32and interior wall 34. The groove has an opening or open side 35 andthere is also an upstanding tongue or flange 36 having an upwardly andoutwardly curved inner side 37.

The bottom 40 of the pool is concave and may be formed in any suitablemanner, as by removal of the earth in the area defined by the wall 10.

In order to insure a fluid-tight pool there is a liner, indicatedgenerally at 41, installed therein. The liner may be of any suitableflexible material, such as plastic, for example. Various plasticmaterials may be used, vinyl having been found to be very satisfactory(particularly polyvinylchloride). Along the upper free edge of the lineris a releasable attaching means, indicated generally at 42, whichextends continuously along said free edge.

Attaching means 42 includes a bead 45 which may be of any suitableflexible material that is somewhat resilient and may be of the same typeof material as the liner 41. As shown, head 45 is integral with theliner and the portion of the liner adjacent to and extending along saidhead is termed the tail portion 43. It is to be understood, of

edge.

course, that the tail portion V the bead but as a part separate from therestofthe llner maybe formed integral with and secured to the adjacentedge of the liner by any suit-' able means known in the art for unitingpieces of plastic 'or other similar material. Suitable adhesive maybeused or the parts united by deep sealing'said parts together.

n It is to be noted that'the bead is generally in the shape of an obtusetriangle with the tail portion,43.,beingattached to said bead at. thejunction or angle 48 formed by the shorter sides of said bead. One endportion '46 of the bead is longer than the opposite end portion 4'7relative to thefline of attachment 48 :of thetail 43. In-

considering the tail portion of the securing means,it is to beunderstood that said taillis that portion adjacent tothe longer part-46at the upper inner corner of th'efgroove I and the shorter part..47'disposed along the base of the tongue 26. Any outward pull v onthe tailv43 .,Will effect a wedging action of the bead .45 to therebysecurelyholdsame in the groove and support the liner alongits upperliner is spaced from the bottom-40 of the poolv and this spacing maysatisfactorily be from several inches to several feet. I A V Whiletheretaining means 42 has been described hereinbe fore the retainingmeans 54' have been described, it is to be understood that the latterare installed before the retaining means '42 is installed.- In otherwords, the

. beads'55 are first insertedinto the groove 30, and the head 45 alongthe top edge'Lof the liner is thereafter inserted into the groove 20. a

After the liner has thus been installed, water is turned into the 'pool.The weight of the wateron the bottom portion 66 of the linercauses theliner to stretch sufficiently so as tobe pressedtightly andsmoothlyagainst the bottom surface 40 of the pool without wrinkling. Asthe,

water level rises thepart 50 of the. liner is forced against the-innersurface of the wall10, as described hereinabove. There is an' inward anddownward pullon the securing means54 while there is but a downward pullon the securin'gmeans42. V

Q It has been found that'the presentinvention is effective to secure theliner in place and it also has been found that the pool and the linermaybe of any desired shape. The. invention and many of its attendantadvantages Vertical portion of the liner is adapted to be pressedagainst the inner surface of the wall 10 when the pool is filled withwater. However, this portion of the liner is about six inches smaller,in'diameter than the inner diameter of [said wall so that said linerportion is spaced somewhat from the inner surface of the wall 10 wheninstalled but prior to filling of the pool. Described other- ;wise, thisportion 50 of the liner corresponds in longitudinal or circumferentialextent with the interior of the wall 10, except that said portion-50 issomewhat smaller in such'extent' than the interior surface of said wall10 and consequently is spaced inwardly of said inner wall; surface, as.shown in FIGSI'I and 2, prior tothe filling of the pool. When the .poolis filled. this portion of the liner will be stretched somewhat andpressed'tightly and smoothly .against'the innergsurface of the wallwithout wrinkling.

The liner is also secured to wall'10 along the lower edge, thereof by aplurality of longitudinally spaced securmeans 54, which is similar tothe securing means 42,

hereinabove described except for longitudinal extent, comprises a bead55 having the cross sectional shape of an obtuse triangle. The tail 56"is connected to'the beadalong theangle formed, by the junction of theshorter sides, as indicated at 57. Thus there is a wider portion 58 andtail. The tail 56 isrelatively wide and itsedge portion opposite thebead 55 is secured to the outerside of 55: a narrower portion 59 of thehead at opposite sides of the ,v 1 j the liner by any suitablewell'known means such as adhesive or heat process, there being asubstantial part of the tail between the head 55 and. part 60 that isfree or unattached to the liner. e

, The. bead 55 of each securing means 54 is disposediin 1 i I a thegroove 30 in the same manner'that the bead 45-iis secured in the groove20, as best shown in FIG. 1, and,

as -mentioned above, the securing means 54 are longitudinally spacedapart. While the securing 'means54 may" be of various desired lengthsand spaced from each other various distances,it, has been foundthat avery satis-" factory length for saidfsecu'ring means is approximately asix inches with a spacing half inches.

of approximately one and one- When the liner is fully installed butprior tol the, pool being filled with water,"the'-bottomportion 66; of,the

willbe understood from the foregoing description and it will be apparentthat various changes may be made in ,thexform, constructionandarrangement of the parts of the invention without departing .from thespirit and scope thereof or sacrificing its material advantages, thearrange- ,ments hereinbefore described beingmerely for purposes a (b)anupper longitudinally extending groove in thejinner' side of saidwalljust beneath the flange ofthecoping,

(aa) said groove having top and bottom walls 1 substantially paralleltoeach other,

(bb) an'interior wall-connecting the inner ends of the top and bottomwalls, I (cc). saidgroove being open, at its outer side, (dd) and anupright flangeextending along i the free edge of the bottom wall of saidgroove, said flange being of less height than the distance between thetop and bottom walls and havingan upwardlyand outwardly curved inner:side, (c) and a lower longitudinally extending groove in the inner sideof thewall adjacent the bot-tom thereof so'astolbe spaced downwardlyfrom the first mentioned, groove, the bottom groove being of similarshape andarrangement as the'upper a V groove, including said flangethereof; 1 v (B); and a plastic liner of a flexible sheet'material thatis'somewhat stretchable, said-linerzhavin'g I (a) avertical portion(biandabottom portion, A 1 (0) a bead along the upper free edge of saidverticalportiony e '1 D,:(a z) said jbead beingin the cross sectional 1shape of, anobtuse triangle withthe upper edge portion of the linerjoined thereto along the angle at thejunction of the v shortersides ofsaid triangle,

g m (b b) saidbead being disposed in upper I groove and extendingdiagonally from the base of. the upstanding flange into the .cornerlatthe junction of the top walland interior wall, soas to be wedged insaidgroove, I

(cc) said bead being subjected to a downward pull by the verticalportion of the liner,

(d) and a plurality of horizontally arranged,

longitudinally spaced securing elements adjacent the junction of thevertical and bottom portions of said liner, each of said elementscomprising (aa) a bead of the same cross-sectional shape and arrangementas the first mentioned bead,

(bb) and a relatively Wide flexible tail portion secured along the upperedge to said bead at the angle formed by the shorter sides thereof andhaving a longitudinally extending lower edge portion secured to thebottom of the liner leaving a substantial part of the tail free,

(cc) the beads of each of said elements being disposed in the lowergroove in substantially the same manner as the first mentioned bead isdisposed in the upper groove,

(e) the vertical portion of said liner normally being of lesscircumferential extent than the circumferential extent of the innersurface of the vertical Wall of the pool when there is no water in saidpool,

( and the bottom portion of the liner normally being spaced from thebottom of the pool when no water is in said pool, the beads of thesecuring elements being subjected to a downward and inward pull.

2. A swimming pool, comprising: (A) an upright wall having asubstantially vertical inner surface and a bottom,

(a) said wall having a longitudinally extending upper groove in theinner side of said wall adjacent the top thereof,

(aa) said groove being open at its outer side,

(bb) and an upright flange extending along the open side of said groove,

(b) and a lower longitudinally extending groove in the inner side of thewall adjacent the bottom thereof so as to be spaced downwardly from thefirst mentioned groove, the bottom groove being of similar shape andarrangement as the upper groove, including said flange;

(B) and a plastic liner of a flexible stretchable sheet material, saidliner having (a) a vertical portion (b) and a bottom portion,

(0) a bead along the upper free edge of said vertical portion,

(aa) said bead being elongated in cross-section,

(bb) said bead being releasably wedged in the upper groove,

(d) and a plurality of horizontally arranged, longitudinally spacedsecuring elements adjacent the junction of the vertical and bottomportions of said liner, each of said elements comprising (aa) a bead ofelongated cross-sectional shape,

(bb) and a flexible tail portion secured along the upper edge to saidbead and having a longitudinally extending lower edge portion secured tothe under side of the liner leaving a substantial portion of the tailfree,

(cc) the beads of each of said elements being releasably wedged in thelower groove,

(e) the vertical portion of said liner normally being of lesscircumferential extent than the circumferential extent of the innersurface of the vertical wall of the pool when there is no water in saidpool,

6 (f) and the bottom portion of the liner normally being spaced from thebottom of the pool when no water is in said pool.

3. In a swimming pool:

(A) a bottom, and an upright wall about the periphery of said bottom,said wall having a substantially vertical inner surface,

(a) said wall having an inwardly opening upper groove in the inner sidethereof,

(aa) and an upright flange, partially closing said groove,

(b) and a lower groove in the inner side of the wall adjacent the bottomthereof, of similar shape and arrangement as the upper groove, includingsaid flange;

(B) and a plastic liner of a flexible sheet material having (a) avertical portion,

(b) and a bottom portion,

(c) a bead along the upper free edge of said vertical portion,

(aa) said bead being secured in said groove,

(d) and a plurality of peripherally spaced lower beads secured to theliner,

(aa) said lower beads being secured in the lower groove,

(e) the vertical portion of said liner normally being of lesscircumferential extent than the circumferential extent of the innersurface of the vertical wall of the pool when there is no Water in saidpool,

(f) and the bottom portion of the liner normally being spaced from thebottom of the pool when no water is in said pool.

4. A liner for a swimming pool, comprising:

(A) a sheet of flexible, somewhat stretchable plastic material, saidliner having (a) a vertical portion,

(b) and a bottom portion,

(c) a bead along the upper free edge of said liner,

(on) said bead being in the cross-section shape of an obtuse trianglewith the upper edge portion of the liner joined thereto along the angleat the junction of the shorter sides of said triangle, said bead beingadapted to be wedged in a top groove, in the inner side of a swimmingpool wall,

(d) and a plurality of horizontally arranged, longitudinally spacedsecuring means adjacent the junction of the vertical portion of theliner and the bottom portion thereof, each of said means comprising (aa)a bead of the same cross-sectional shape and arrangement as the firstmentioned bead,

(bb) and a relatively wide tail portion secured along the upper edge tosaid bead at the angle formed by the shorter sides thereof and having alongitudinally extending lower edge portion secured to the bottom of theliner leaving a substantial portion of the tail free, the beads of saidsecuring means being adapted to be wedged in a lower groove in saidswimming pool wall,

(2) the vertical portion of said liner being of less circumferentialextent than the circumferential extent of the inner surface of thevertical wall of a swimming pool when installed therein and there is nowater in said pool,

(7) and the bottom portion of the liner being spaced from the bottom ofthe pool when no water is in said pool.

5. In a liner for a swimming pool: (A) a sheet of flexible, somewhatstretchable material,

said liner having (d) and a plurality of horizontally arranged, lon

gitudinally spaced securing means' adjacent the junction of the verticalportion of the liner and the :bottom portion thereof; each of saidsecuring means comprising r, i a

(aa) ahead l a i (bb) and/tailrportion secure'd along the upper edge tosaid bead and also secured to the liner, said beadsbeing adapted ito'bewedged in alowerg'roovejn said swimming pool 8 7 wall, V

' (e) the verticalpor-tion .of'said liner being of less circumferentialextent than the circumferential v extent of the .inner surfaceof thevertical wall of a swimming pool when installed therein and, there is nowater insaid pool, r

V (f) and the bottom portion of the liner ibein'g having a concavebottom anda vertical circumferential wall with an inner verticalxfacehaving top and bottom longitudinally extending grooves :and upstandingflanges at the lower open sides thereof, the liner having a verticalportionand a bottom portion, ;an upper .peripheral bead along the 'free:edge of the vertical portion and af plurality of longitudinallyspaced'similar lower beads' secured to the liner. adjacent the junctionof the bottom 7 and verticaljp'ortions thereof by 'i ieirib'letailpieces; comprising the steps of:' i

(A) wedging the lower beads in the lowerggroove throughout thecircumferential extent of-the liner,

and wall with the bottom of 'the'lin'er spaced from the bottom of thepool when no water isin'the pool;

'(B) wedging the upper bead in the upper groove:

throughout the circumferential extent of the liner and the vertical'wall of r the 'poo'l with at least a substantialflpart of the verticalportion of the liner below the upper :bead spaced from the adjacentinner face-of thewalljwhen nowater is'in the' pool; 4 (C) andstretching'the bottom of the liner into unwrinkled' engagementwith thebottom of the pool and stretching thevertical'portion' of theliner'into.

' 8' unwrinkled contact withthe inner surface 7 vertical wall by fillingsaid poolwithwater. '7; A method of installing liners in swimming poolshaving a concave bottom and a vertical peripheral wall, comprising thesteps of: i

(A) first securing the peripheryof the bottom portion of aflexiblestretchable-liner to the vertical wall adjacent the bottomthereof at a plurality of peripherallyspacedlocations about saidperiphery, with said bottom portion of thelinerspaced upwardly of thebottom of the pool a distance ofseveral inches; (B) then;securing;itheupperfree edge of said liner throughout its entire periphery tosaidvertical wall 7 adjacent the. top thereof with the portion of the linerbelow the secured free edge thereof adjacent 7 said wall, spacedtherefrom a predetermined distance; (C) and stretching the liner. intowrinkle-free contact with the bottom ,of the spool and the'inner surfaceof the .vertical wall thereof by 'filling same with water." a 1' r 8; Ina method of installing liners in swimming pools of the having a bottomand a peripheral wall'upstanding therefrom: v a a a (A) securing theperiphery of the .bottom portion of a flexible, stretchable liner to the,vertical wall adjacent the bottom thereofat a plurality'of peripherallyspaced locations about said periphery with said bottom portion of theliner spaced upwardly of the 7 bottom of the .pool;

(B). securing the upperfree edge of said liner throughoutits entireperiphery to said vertical wall adjacent the top thereof with aportiontof the ,liner below the secured edge and. adjacent'said wall,spacedtherefrom; 1

(C) stretching'theliner into wrinkle-free contact with I the bottomofthe pooland the inner surface of the i Q upstanding wall thereof -byfilling same with water.

References Cited by 'the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS:

EDWARD v.- BEN AM;'P mm Exam ner.

FRANK HQBRONAUGH',=Exqminer.-

3. IN A SWIMMING POOL; (A) A BOTTOM, AND AN UPRIGHT WALL ABOUT THEPERIPHERY OF SAID BOTTOM, SAID WALL HAVING A SUBSTANTIALLY VERTICALINNER SURFACE, (A) SAID WALL HAVING AN INWARDLY OPENING UPPER GROOVE INTHE INNER SIDE THEREOF, (AA) AND AN UPRIGHT FLANGE, PARTIALLY CLOSINGSAID GROOVE, (B) AND A LOWER GROOVE IN THE INNER SIDE OF THE WALLADJACENT THE BOTTOM THEREOF, OF SIMILAR SHAPE AND ARRANGEMENT AS THEUPPER GROOVE INCLUDING SAID FLANGE; (B) AND A PLASTIC LINER OF AFLEXIBLE SHEET MATERIAL HAVING (A) A VERTICAL PORTION, (B) AND A BOTTOMPORTION, (C) A BEAD ALONG THE UPPER FREE EDGE OF SAID VERTICAL PORTION,(AA) SAID BEAD BEING SECURED IN SAID GROOVE,